NEW YORK — Some non-Orthodox rabbinical schools in the United States are welcoming their largest incoming classes of future rabbis in 15 years this fall 2026. The surge in enrollment—observed at institutions including the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York and Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion—reflects a broader shift in student demographics, expanded virtual learning options, and intensified reflection on Jewish identity following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza.

The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) in New York City is enrolling 25 students in its rabbinical school this fall, the institution’s largest cohort since 2011. To accommodate a wider range of academic backgrounds, JTS has updated its curriculum to better serve students with limited formal education in Hebrew and Judaic studies. The seminary also revamped opportunities for students to build foundational language and textual skills.

Three years ago, JTS launched the Religious Leadership Mekhinah Program, a virtual preparatory track that offers online coursework in Hebrew and rabbinic literature alongside support from rabbinic mentors. “We have some students who are coming in after Jewish day school, after studying college-level Judaic studies, and some who have not done serious academic study in these areas,” said Rabbi Ayelet Cohen, dean of JTS’s rabbinical school. She added, “We needed to make sure that our curriculum was elastic enough to provide advanced learning for those who are coming in with a lot and also to reinforce the foundational texts for people who are coming in with less of that.”

Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC), the academic and spiritual center of Reform Judaism with campuses in New York, Los Angeles, Jerusalem, and Cincinnati, is welcoming 42 students in its incoming class for 2026—up from 23 in 2023. That increase includes 17 students joining HUC’s virtual rabbinical school program, which opened in 2025. The program’s first cohort in 2025 had 10 participants.

Designed to attract career switchers and older learners outside traditional seminary hubs, the virtual track draws applicants from diverse professional backgrounds, including academia, tech, and nonprofit work. “It not only meets people where they are and allows them to fulfill their calling,” said Andrew Rehfeld, president of Hebrew Union College. He added, “It also will strengthen and fertilize our Jewish communities with a new kind of experience, a new kind of perspective.”

Rehfeld noted that HUC has also been running online fellowship programs for college students and recent graduates as part of its broader recruitment strategy. Despite downsizing its physical campuses in Los Angeles and New York in recent years, the institution raised $50 million in fundraising—the most successful year in its history, according to Rehfeld. He acknowledged that Reform congregations are generally shrinking and donating less, but said the recent enrollment growth has bolstered donor confidence.

“The recent enrollment growth helps our donors have confidence in the path that we’re taking,” Rehfeld said. Still, he urged caution about interpreting the data too soon: “A few years of growth does not quite yet make a trend.” He added, “We’re very hopeful … The data will tell the story in the next few years.”

David Fisher is among those beginning rabbinical studies at HUC this fall. Fisher previously attended Hebrew College in Boston but relocated his family to Washington, D.C., to be closer to his wife’s relatives. He has a 3-year-old child and is expecting another.

Fisher cited HUC’s balance of structure and adaptability as a key factor in his decision. “I’ve always been somebody who’s looking for the right balance of structure, and HUC offers a really powerful blend of structure and flexibility,” he said. He added, “It’s lovely to be able to be rooted in our thriving Jewish community that we’re in and also do the learning and the training for what comes next.”

The enrollment gains come after more than a decade of declining numbers across liberal rabbinical institutions. In 2007, five non-Orthodox rabbinical schools in the U.S. enrolled a combined total of 100 incoming students. By 2022, that figure had dropped to 52.

From 2008 to 2020, large denominational rabbinical schools saw average annual enrollment declines of 16 students per year. Since 2020, that rate of decline has slowed to nine students per year, according to data from Atra: Center for Rabbinic Innovation. The Ziegler School of Rabbinical Studies in Los Angeles, which trains Conservative rabbis, currently has 30 students. Meanwhile, Hebrew College in Boston has maintained steady or modest growth, enrolling about 15 new students annually over the past decade, according to Rabbi Dan Judson, the school’s provost. He credits that stability to Hebrew College’s focus on traditional text study, chevruta (partnered learning), and a pluralistic approach to Jewish education.

The enrollment rebound at major non-Orthodox rabbinical schools marks a potential turning point after years of contraction in liberal Jewish leadership pipelines. The increases coincide with a period of heightened antisemitism, political polarization, and communal trauma stemming from the October 7 attacks and Gaza war, which some rabbinical leaders believe has spurred deeper engagement with Jewish identity and religious vocation. The shift also reflects institutional adaptation: both JTS and HUC have invested in virtual and preparatory programs to broaden access beyond traditional student profiles. If sustained, the trend could reshape the demographics and geographic distribution of future Reform and Conservative rabbis in the U.S.

These developments occur against a backdrop of long-term challenges for liberal Jewish movements, including shrinking congregations and declining financial support. The fact that enrollment growth is emerging even as synagogues contract suggests a decoupling between institutional affiliation and individual spiritual seeking. The success of virtual pathways may also influence how religious education is delivered more broadly, testing whether remote formation can produce rabbis equipped to lead in diverse and dispersed communities.